Actresses complaining about sex-for-roles should watch how they dress — Paul Obazele

Who gave you your first opportunity in the film industry?

I will always give credit to some great men who pushed me so much into television. I cannot forget Chris Rapu because he asked someone to give me a script and after that, producers started flooding me with scripts. After about seven movies, I decided to shoot my own movie. That was how the movie roles started coming in until I had to say no because at that time, if you acted a particular role well, people would call you up to do the same thing over and again. After some years, I became the president of the Association of Movie producers.

When did you become the President of the Association of Movie Producers?

I became the president of AMP in 2007. Prior to that, I was a two-time financial secretary of the association. I also served as the president for two terms. When I came on board, the first thing I did was to engage the government and the corporate sector.  The only way I could do that was to bring something to the table. I saw a bunch of great men and women in the movie industry that we couldn’t afford to take for granted. So, we needed to harness them and the only way was to have a day when people could meet with them. In order to get the corporate world’s attention, your idea must be bankable. So, we needed to bring patrons into the association. I appreciate the wife of the former Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, Abimbola. She did excellently well for us as a matron. When people saw the strength and business nature we had, they decided to support us.

What were some of the innovations you introduced to AMP?

We launched a fight against piracy and formed a partnership with the press. This made producers comfortable enough to showcase their movies. Over time, investors and filmmakers, who had lost interest in the Nigerian movie industry, came back. For instance, before my time, nobody went to the cinemas but during my tenure, cinemas were opened and we were able to engage Senator Ben Murray Bruce. In fact, he challenged me and Chico Ejiro; he told us to give him a movie and he would give us a hundred million.

Do you think the fight against piracy is effective?

I would say yes and no because currently, it is only the National Film and Video Censors Board that is fighting it, and that cannot be very effective. Other organs that are supposed to join in the fight are not contributing. During my time, we engaged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to fight piracy because we needed to get as many people as possible involved.  The Indians and Chinese are doing great damage to us and sadly, it is our people that bring them into the country.

There have been allegations that some producers demand sex for roles. How rampant is this?

Those who are complaining that producers ask for sex should check how they dress to auditions. I am not supporting the producers but the fact still remains that no reasonable producer or director will reject an actor who can deliver because she has refused to give him sex.  Some ladies dress in a way that would make producers and directors ‘hunt’ them. The funny thing is that those producers and directors will go after them and after they finish, they would drop them because they had sold themselves cheaply.

When you were president, AMP how did you correct this?

When I was president, the disciplinary committee invited people alleged to have acted inappropriately and we had a relationship with the censors board. If any producer was reported, we investigated and if the allegation was found to be true, their movie would not be censored. Of course, that would make the producer to have a rethink. However, the people in leadership now do not understand that. They are just like a dog that can’t bite.  During my time, we had a task force that made sure things were done properly, but now, they don’t have anything like that. They are just interested in playing politics.

It is also believed that the industry has been taken over by homosexuals. What’s your take on this?

I have said it times without number that the industry is controlled by gays and lesbians; I am not hiding it. It is obvious and known. Even some television owners are gays and lesbians, and that is satanic. When I was president of the AMP, I published their names. Saying you were born a homosexual is a lie.

You seem to have disappeared from the scene lately. Why is this so?

I have not disappeared; I shoot my movies. I just shot two movies with Frank Rajah.  One is titled, The Lamp and the other is The Creek. It will have an international premiere and it is the most expensive movie in Africa because it was shot with N160m. The film would also be premiered in Canada, USA, Germany and France. Then, we will come back to Africa. I like to carefully select the things I do and I don’t like to jump into movies; because if it is not a family-oriented story, I won’t do it. I am not longing to kiss anybody on television because my wife is enough for me to kiss. We should not leave our stories and start telling other people’s stories. Meanwhile, the Americans want to hear our own story.  America is great today because they preserved and told their stories. I am not a racist but I just feel that we can’t be great until we look inward. That is why the white man looked into Nollywood and called us a phenomenon because we told our story our own way. These days, you find people speaking with foreign accents; meanwhile, they don’t even know what a foreign country looks like. But when the white man wants to shoot a movie about Nigeria, they would bring in someone with a Nigerian accent.  When I was the president of the association, countries, such as France, brought in people to understudy Nollywood and they went to the University of Benin and University of Ibadan.

How do you think Nollywood can achieve greatness?

Nollywood can only achieve growth if we have a responsible leadership and not a leader motivated by personal interests. The leaders we have there now have refused to grow Nollywood but their pockets. I am of the opinion that EFCC should be invited into the association. However, I know that Nollywood will rise again and will rescue this country, whether we like it or not. I just hope that the government knows that the fastest and easiest investment is in Nollywood. If they don’t create an enabling environment, Nollywood will go elsewhere to shine just like some of our guys in Ghana are doing well. We have great minds and great filmmakers in this country but we lose them because of politics.

How did you meet you wife?

I met her when I went to do a transaction in the bank. I finished a shoot and I was given a cheque but when I went to the bank to cash it; they couldn’t pay me and at that time, I didn’t have any money with me. I remembered that the branch manager was my friend and I decided to go and see her. But she was on her annual leave and my wife was the one on the desk on relief duty. She refused to pay me because it was a post-dated cheque and I felt insulted. So, I decided that I was going to sleep with her and dump her. Eventually, we became friends and since then, we have been overcoming storms together and we are thankful for our lives.

What were some of the storms you overcame?

Eating late night food and walking too fast. When I realise that I am walking too fast, I just slow down because someone is beside me.

Who are your closest friends in the industry?

Zack Orji and I are very good friends. In fact, people call us ‘five and six’. Also, Chico Ejiro, Zeb Ejiro, Francis Duru, Ngozi Ezeonu and so many people who have worked closely with me.

How do you love to dress?

My wife dresses me. She picks whatever I wear. I dress anyway my wife wants me to dress.